Home › Forums › Stay Dirty Lounge › Service and Repair Questions Answered Here › ’91 Accord classic oil in the spark plug well
- This topic has 10 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 11 months ago by EricTheCarGuy.
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October 17, 2011 at 11:00 am #440283
Have a ’91 Accord LX no start.
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October 18, 2011 at 11:00 am #440284
It is possible the oil could produce a not start, but unlikely. When I purchased my 91 EX years ago, oil leaked inside the spark plug wells, but the car started and ran fine. If you have spark at the plugs, then I would check to make sure you have fuel pressure at the fuel rail. If there is pressure at the fuel rail, make sure the injectors are firing when being told too by the computer.
Is the car cranking and just not starting?
Is the check engine light on? If so, pull the codes to see what the problem is.
Also, check all the ground connections including the one on the thermostat housing.
What about your mechanical and ignition timing?
October 18, 2011 at 11:00 am #440285The oil in the well caused my mom’s sparkplug boots to come off much easier than normal causing her engine to miss a lot.
October 18, 2011 at 11:00 am #440286Max,
Continued run down on fuel rail is the order of the day. After that timing.
The car cranks healthily but no catch, spark, or sputter. Just the churning of the starter. Check engine light not on. Battery pulled to charge, so codes cleared. None have reappeared. The ground is a good suggestion. I always forget that one crucial piece.
Jason,
Thanks for the feedback. Boots are on tight but do remove easier than others I have seen.
Thanks guys. I will continue the diagnose. I just did not want to overlook this possibility.
October 18, 2011 at 11:00 am #440287You have gas in the car right?
October 19, 2011 at 11:00 am #440288Quoted From TejasNW:
Max,
Continued run down on fuel rail is the order of the day. After that timing.
The car cranks healthily but no catch, spark, or sputter. Just the churning of the starter. Check engine light not on. Battery pulled to charge, so codes cleared. None have reappeared. The ground is a good suggestion. I always forget that one crucial piece.
Jason,
Thanks for the feedback. Boots are on tight but do remove easier than others I have seen.
Thanks guys. I will continue the diagnose. I just did not want to overlook this possibility.
Glad we could help. If there is fuel at the rail, the injectors are firing, and the timing is good, I’d do a compression test next. Also, it’s rare that injectors fail on that engine so I really doubt that’s it. There is also an injector resistor box mounted in front of the driver side strut tower, but those rarely go bad as well.
Keep us updated on the test results!
October 19, 2011 at 11:00 am #440289I’m for fixing what you know is broken when looking for the source of a problem. I’m not saying that the oil is causing the no start so much but I have seen that cause a cylinder miss and if you have multiple soaked plugs then it could add up. I wouldn’t worry about the timing just yet first confirm that you have spark and fuel and fix the oil leaks.
October 29, 2011 at 11:00 am #440290Thanks everyone. Wanted to get back to this thread. I had time today to pull the valve cover and look at the oil leak issue. Gasket in good shape. Grommetts all looked new. Did not get to tube seals (lower seals.) I am taking Eric’s advice and see if the problem is resolved before pulling the cam train off.
It looked as if a mechanic had used some rtv or other sealer around the boss the grommets mate to. They had black sticky stuff around the perimeter. I carb cleaned, wirebrushed, and wiped the boss clean; and buttoned it all back up. As in the video, the gasket was a pain in the neck. Think I finally got it all where it needs to be. Will run the car for a month and check plugs wells for oil.
Thanks for all the help. It appears on further diagnosis, the problem is fuel related. I continued trouble shooting on that system. Main relay good. fuel pump spinning. Oh look! no flow out of the fuel filter. Checked input line. Strong flow. Replaced the filter. All should be well and good. However,… With fuel pressure in the rail, I find that I have an injector pissing fuel (a good distance, I was impressed.) from just below the electrical connection. Looks like it may be time for new injectors; or new seals at a minimum. Onward through the fog…
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was productive.
October 30, 2011 at 11:00 am #440292Dreamer,
I did not. Never occurred to me. Thanks for the tip. The o-rings were toast. They came apart between my fingers. Some of the seals not much better. Once I pulled the rail it was obvious I was not getting a good seal. A few cheap kits and everything snugged down nicely. No leaks.
I will remember next time to take a reading. Thank you.
October 30, 2011 at 11:00 am #440291Im glad you had a productive weekend. I did too C8-)
As for the injector leaking, did you check for a short in the wiring that will cause the injector to constantly be energized?
October 31, 2011 at 11:00 am #440293Thanks for keeping us up to date. A little silicone paste on those ‘o’ rings makes it go back together nice.
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